Insightful and dramatic, Lured by the American Dream is the untold story of how Filipino servicepersons overcame tradition and hierarchy in their quest for dignity.
| Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Acknowledgments Introduction. A "Metaphysics of Absence": Filipino Americans in the Margins of U.S. History Chapter 1. Colonial Past, Neocolonial Present Chapter 2. The Navy's Search for Postcolonial Servants Illustrations Chapter 3. Adrift from the American Dream Chapter 4. Tales of Resistance Chapter 5. The Navy's "Filipino Servant Problem" Chapter 6. Achieving the American Dream Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index Back cover |"I greatly enjoyed reading this well-crafted, sophisticated, and deeply moving oral history and enthusiastically endorse its engagement in courses in U.S. history, migration studies, and labor analysis." —Pacific Historical Review"Accessible and sophisticated. Paligutan's exploration of the recruitment and experiences of Filipino navy men is an excellent illustration of how economic underdevelopment of the Philippines in the interests of US economic and political gain created the first of many pools of cheap Filipino migrant workers. Paligutan has done a fantastic job at weaving in an intersectional analysis of gender, particularly masculinity, throughout the book."—Valerie Francisco-Menchavez, author of The Labor of Care: Filipina Migrants and Transnational Families in the Digital Age
"Lured by the American Dream is a must-read for anyone interested in military history, labor history, and Asian American Studies." —H-Net Reviews
|P. James Paligutan is a lecturer in Asian American Studies at California State University, Fullerton.